Sarah Missionary Letter Vicksburg #4- 6/30/14:

Guess What---GUESS WHAT! ML and TF were baptized yesterday!

         They decided last Tuesday to move to northern Mississippi to live with their mother until ML’s husband gets out of prison. They called us on Friday and asked if they could get baptized on Sunday! AND SHE ASKED IF I WOULD SPEAK! I spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost. I kept on asking Sister Walker how it was and she said each time, "It was fine." I guess that is what you get when you fish for compliments. The font itself was yellow, and because the water by itself was blue, together they made the water look like the gross-est green color!

                  Other than that, it has been another busy, busy week! We have specialized training in Clinton on Wednesday and I think I will get to see Sister Hill!! (Sarah’s beloved first companion from training.)

         My favorite moment of the week: Sam is the bishop’s son and he is either autistic or has Asbergers. He is about 16. But either way he is REALLY smart. This week when the sacrament hymn ended, the priests were still breaking the bread. While the organist was playing for a while after the hymn singing was done, Sam cupped his hands around his mouth and really loudly started commentating, "Welcome to the 36^th-annual-General-Conference. Our organist is Sister Archibald (the actual sister who was playing the organ), and the music will be led by Brother Casey. This broadcast was brought to you by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Bonneville Distribution Center" Sister Hill and I were dying wanting to laugh out loud! Because he basically was quoting word-for-word General Conference introductions.

         The military park in Vicksburg is definitely one of my new favorite historical sights! You actually drive through the park. The whole thing is about 16 miles. SO MANY CANNONS!!  And lots of boring memorials, though some were really well done and/or huge. I took LOTS of pictures. I will be sending a small package for Daddy that has all of the details. We sang, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” for some tourists when we went into a memorial that echoed and made your voice loud. SO COOL! (We sang “Battle Hymn of the Republic” before they got there—haha. We were pretty silly!)

         On companionship exchanges (“ex-stranges”), I got to see Jackson, Mississippi, and oh, Madison. “WHOOEY”—Madison, Mississippi! The Kroger Mansion looks like a manor house from “Pride and Prejudice”!  

         I was teaching my favorite ADHD investigator, and IT FINALLY CLICKED! That just because I am a teaching her a missionary discussion does not mean it cannot be like Primary! In fact, it should be easier than Primary because we had three teachers and only two students! (This was her third time learning the lesson from the Sisters so she was supposed to know this, and Sister Walker was getting frustrated because she didn’t) So I got down on the floor, and scooted TF next to me. I gave her the cut outs of the ‘Plan of Salvation’ and I told her to put them in order. AND ARE YOU READY TO HEAR WHAT WE DID??!! NO, REALLY-- ARE YOU READY? WE USED SIGN LANGUAGE!! "Tiffany, Where will we be when we are reeeeessssurected?" (wiggling two fingers coming up from the palm of my hand.) The best part is that her little brother came and joined in the lesson! Just because it looked like we were having so much fun! I had to make Sister Walker and the member we brought with us join in, but it was worth it because at the end Tiffany told me, "We are going to every lesson like this one!" So! Will you, pretty please, help me find a way to get a hold of some Gospel ASL? We have so many children in our ward with disabilities, mostly because the Bishop and his wife intentionally adopt high risk cases.

PLEASE SEND PICTURES! ANYONE WHO IS READING THIS LETTER SEND ME A PICTURE OF YOURSELF!!

                                                                        LOVE,

                                                                        Sister White!